Wait

South swell waiting is in full swing, but there have been plenty of surf days this summer. Sometimes you wait for great head-high and over-head sets, sometimes you wait for knee-high sets. It's summer time. Yes, you also wait for me to get a real job and blog. You wait for the knee-high single wave sets, why not my blog? I have been busy surfing, with little time for late night narratives. The south swells have been coming in along with an occasional northwest ground swell and wind swell. South swells have averaged 2.5 feet at 14 seconds from 185 to 195. The northwest swells have average 5 feet at 8 to 14 seconds from 295 to 310. Some south swells have been generated from storms off Baja, and these swells have periods of about 12 seconds. Today, the swell picked up with some nearby south (2.7 feet at 12 seconds) and some northwest (6.7 feet at 10 seconds).

I have been surfing El Anzuelo e Tiburones - riding the pescado e pescado cuatro. Crowds have varied from bro-rotation (brotation) to weekend, who-the-f##K-are-these-guys masses. Early this week, shared the brotation with Rich, Peter, and Hot Dog until DYSM did his usual best to disrupt the groove. Of course, the first responders surf fest cleared the water as a good swell showed - man are those guys lucky - at least with surf tests at the Steps.

I spent several hours during the last two weeks filming the manufacture of a surfboard. It was a great experience, and the board, butterscotch junior, will be unveiled as soon as I can surf without the masses honing in on it. J. Mel shaped it and Ralph did the glass job and finish shaping. Next time you think a handmade board is expensive - forget the materials and look to the craftsmen - they are worth every penny. Hopefully, Goose Brown and Q-tip will help me render the four hours of filming into something I can give back to the builders. Ralph is retiring from glassing boards and will focus on repair. I highly recommend his work - I can show you the results since most of my boards have been repaired by him. While I was filming, I noticed a board in for repair that needed a lot of work - what happened butterscotch? Crew members: let me know if you need to get a hold of Ralph for a repair.

Early in today's surf session I was pitted against an LB trany that continued to roast me. I rode way too much foam, while my adversary cruised down the line. My harsh words fell on deaf ears. While I was getting stuffed at La Bol Segunda, Sharks continued to pack them in. Any notion of sliding down to Triburones was dashed when I saw the flotilla of LBs waiting for my arrival. I know Hot Dog and R-girl were ripping it - was there room for me?. Anyway, once the LB trany left, I got some fun ones. It wasn't without help. Dave, recovering from illness, was out sliding and hanging five. In between his waves, he was calling the LBs off so I could go unhindered. Thanks Dave. Hey - did you see KM on the red Ferrari Quattro? Taking corners, racing down the line - looking smooth. Alex is also frequently seen racing at the Steps - now looking faster with the close cut. And J-girl, the hatchet woman, loping open heads as she maneuvers through the matted masses.

The globe is being torn open and so am I. Have we not progressed past killing each other. Even the most primitive beasts know how to maintain a society without killing for advantage. My thoughts on the Israeli - it's A.O.K with the U.S. - Hezbros war are nothing without a foundation for the rest. So, my first endeavor is to show a different point of view from that blasted on FOX and the rest of the news-lemmings. Please read this interview and article for starters. Other toads include the doublespeak out of Israel. Regarding the killing of locals who just happen to live in the neighborhood - actions were "incidental and non-deliberate." That's right, just an accident the bombs fell on the building next door and the resulting pile of rubble landed on family next door killing them all - and it wasn't deliberate - they thought the rubble was going to stay put. Our Congress is on acid. Voting on nothing, giving the O.K. for continued "incidental and non-deliberate" killing, and just doing stupid things. In a committee regarding global warming, the typical Repugnant mantra - "how can we make policy decisions on global warming when the research is still uncertain?" It's not clear who is still uncertain, but what happened to this doubt regarding research when they all voted, after little debate, on going to war with Iraq? One policy decision leading to death and destruction, the other leading to reducing use of fossil fuels and emissions. If we're going to make a decision on too little or uncertain information, I'll go with global warming. Speaking of studies, as many as 1.5 million people get sick from bacterial pollution on Southern California Beaches each year. Great - let's get some more people in Santa Cruz. Finally - people in Great Britain view the U.S as a vulgar, crime-ridden society obsessed with money and led by an incompetent president whose Iraqi policy is failing. That same president said, "what you're watching is American policy" when commenting on the situation in Lebanon. Oh my Gosh.  ¶ 10:47 PM 4 comments

 

Fireworks

This week the fireworks went off as we celebrated the Fourth, but I understand the real fireworks came a few days earlier. The wire has it that Ranger Roy went off like a Roman Candle. Now, I'm not talking about the 2006 version of a Roman Candle - restrained, low-key, safe - I'm talking about a down your throat, in your face, 15-footer. Equally news worthy was the anger management response offered up by Penguin. Apparently, the Crew were on a mediocre day at Tiburones having fun and dealing with a young lad from the ranks of the Masses - maybe even a lower caste Kook. This guy was fumbling around right in that part of the wave where you need to be balls-out down the line or getting in position to fly. Gentle, mild-mannered Ranger Roy stopped by to educate this fellow on the finer points of surfing Tiburones with the Crew. The guy got in the Ranger's face and said "F**K YOU". No one says that to a ranger - or Zidane. Instead of a head butt, Ranger Roy went off. Can you see it? I didn't and I'm disappointed. Veins in his neck throbbing, Roy let the Kook have it. Caste warfare. When you thought it couldn't get better, Penguin came over to help Roy cool and save the caste system. Penguin talks Roy down from 30,000 feet. Fireworks. Well, in the end Roy and the young member of the Masses caste (or possibly Kook caste) patched things up. Fireworks don't push the conversation forward, but they are great to look at. Speaking of fireworks, the surf hasn't been exploding. Today was the first time I've surfed in a while - knee high La Bol Segunda with la pescado. I heard rumors of south all week - or maybe that's "weak". We shall see. In any event, I did not not see Hot Dog, Ranger Roy, Penguin, or Fly Trap - did they not know it was pumping? I did see Butterscotch - ripping. Today's thought - CorpGov - the way it is. From immigration, healthcare, education, war, resource ownership - no more commons. Our most intimate information is for sale, genetic engineered patented life - water for sale. We are the largest supplier of small arms ammunition at $140 million per year with the Swiss taking second at $40 million. Our CorpGov is making bank while we supply war. I'm sure you know some of the other CorpGovs that are making it big on war. Invest in war - great returns - just don't watch what your money does. Worried about your weed money going to terrorists? - at least that's what the CorpGov wants you to be worried about. Don't worry about what your investment/tax dollars are up to. It's weed money that's buying US ammo. Yea - that's it - when you buy weed you invest in America. Just don't think about it. Daydream Shorebreak. The Italian Don King sidewalk surfing.

The man who prefers his country before any other duty shows the same spirit as the man who surrenders every right to the state. They both deny that right is superior to authority. -Lord Acton, historian (1834-1902)  ¶ 10:40 PM 2 comments